Reversing baldness could one day be as easy as wearing a hat.
Engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison developed a noninvasive, low-cost hair-growth-stimulating technology unobtrusive enough to fit under a cap.
“I think this will be a very practical solution to hair regeneration,” study co-author Xudong Wang, a professor at UW-Madison, said in a statement.
The device—no bigger than the palm of a hand—stimulates the skin with gentle, low-frequency electric pulses, coaxing dormant follicles to reactivate hair production.
And because it is powered by the movement of the wearer, the low-profile gadget doesn’t require a bulky battery pack or complicated electronics; it’s discreet enough to be worn under everyday headgear.
“Electric stimulations can help many different body functions,” according to Wang, who has pioneered electric bandages that stimulate wound healing and a weight-loss implant that uses gentle electricity to trick the stomach into feeling full.
The device (right) is shown along with a baseball cap used to cover it (via Alex Holloway/University of Wisconsin–Madison)
“But before our work there was no really good solution for low-profile devices that provide gentle-but-effective stimulations,” he said.
Thanks to incredibly gentle pulses that don’t penetrate any deeper than the outermost layers of the scalp—the same bits you wash in the shower—there are no unpleasant side effects.
Other baldness treatments, UW-Madison pointed out, can carry risks of sexual dysfunction, depression, and anxiety.
“It’s a self-activated system, very simple and easy to use,” Wang explained. “The energy is very low so it will cause minimal side effects.”
There is one catch, though.
The technology really only works as an “intervention” for people in the early stages of pattern baldness, the University explained; it won’t restore flowing locks to someone who’s been “bald as a billiard ball” for years.
A full description of the technology was published in the journal ACS Nano.
I just have one question: Does it work on eyebrows?
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